The Life and times of the Sailing Yacht KaijaSong and her happy crew Kaija & Gary. 15 years sailing the Caribbean & South Pacific on their round the world adventure.
We arrived in Cabo Rojo after 118 easy motor sailing miles in very light easterly winds and comfortable seas.Again, timing is everything in passage making…but in our experience cruising the south shore in the lee of the trades is the way to go when heading east. Upon our arrival in this old Bauxite mining port town, there was only one other sailboat in the large bay and it wasn’t long before the local boat arrived carrying the officials.While this process is made somewhat more difficult because of language, we had Luis with us who is native to Dominican Republic and it wasn’t long before he had everything in order which was no small feat and included a call to a Navy friend who enabled the signing of ‘important’ documents and we received our Zarpe or Importation Permit to travel in Dominican Rep waters.
We arrived in Ile La Vache after a crossing of 214 miles in relatively light conditions which meant it was a motor sail.Better that than slogging into heavy wind and seas which are typical for this time of year.Still traveling with S/v Fruko we met up with Michele and Isabelle S/v Oef and met Tony and Suzie on S/v de Capa.The four of them had been in Haiti for a couple of weeks helping with relief efforts after the terrible earthquake on mainland Haiti.Even tho the island is miles offshore the people here felt the effects and many were suffering the after affects that resulted.Despite all they had suffered, we found most of the young people well clothed (most newly contributed thru the efforts of the aid brought into the country) and were eager to do any sort or work to make some money.Thru the efforts of Tony and Suzie and Michele and Isabella there is a plan to raise enough money to build a new town dock which would enable better access for boats arriving to load and unload their cargo.The bay and anchorage are ideal for cruisers trying to make passage east or west between Jamaica and Dominican Republic, our next stop.
We left early on the morning of April 13 and spent the first couple of hours dodging the fish pot, traps, nets and small fishing skiffs in the large open bay.Apparently, so we were told, it is a trick of these wily fishermen to catch unsuspecting boaters in their nets and then claim damage and hold them ‘ransom’ until reparations are made.I felt somewhat more at ease working our way thru this ‘minefield’ being one of four vessels transiting and making it more difficult for the fisherman to surround any of us.Alas, all was well and we departed for the 118 crossing to Cabo Rojo, DR.
Port Antonio is an International Port of Call for check-in-out with Customs and Immigration.We arrived at the fuel dock and filled up before heading over to the Errol Flynn Yacht Club.We were greeted by a handful of dock hands here to help with the lines and welcome us to this historic Yacht Club founded by one of the all time great American actors and beau vivants. We were among a handful of other yachts in the bay and went to sleep being one of the largest.We awoke to find a mini-cruise ship the privately owned 161 foot Yacht Mystic moored on the dock opposite us…we were only slightly larger than its tender..oh well…there will always be a bigger boat.
Port Antonio has been visited by pirates privateers and trading vessels for hundreds of years. They are a friendly people with an immediate smile when you look at them and they are a mix of every shade, a result of the years of race mixing in this crossroads of the seas. The town and is a colorful mix of the old Jamaican traditions with shops and vendors aplenty in every direction.It is easy to spend your money here and they are only too happy to take it as Jamaica relies heavily on its tourist dollars to support their economy.
In much lighter conditions we arrived at this picturesque little inlet that is being created by reclaiming land from the sea and is in a state of development.It does provide safety for a half dozen boats but there is little amenities offered to cruisers.It afforded us a good rest spot before heading into Port Antonio.
This was also the film site of the James Bond Movie, Live and Let Die.The resort here is call the James Bond Resort and Ian Fleming is noted to have spent much time here writing his series of novels which later became such fun films.
Time to start moving East and so off we headed for Mosquito Bay a short hop of 25 miles…into the winds and seas.We had been checking weather and looking for a weather lay down day, something other than 20kts on the nose…but that’s just about what we got and we were happy to make anchorage in this small almost hidden anchorage.Lucky for me I had Luis waypoints or with the pounding surf you cannot see this opening in the rocks and with the sea conditions being what they were, I decided to run the opening with our main up (not something I would recommend), and we verily flew thru the opening into this lovely quiet spot quite protected from the wind and pounding surf.
There is a small outcrop of dwellings further up the river inlet and Luis was able to get a local to go and get diesel, but there are no amenities available. The advantage of this stop is its access to Montego Bay by land if one feels the need to visit Mo Bay.We chose to bypass and headed east 77 miles to Oracabessa Harbour
